of road-crash injuries and fatalities for nearly two decades. In 2000, former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, and AIP Foundation rolled out “Helmets for Kids”, a signature programme of the foundation that provides school children and teachers with quality helmets and road safety education. A year later, Vietnam adopted a child-specific helmet standard and, soon after, AIP Foundation created a roadsafety curriculum, which schools adopted nationwide. Despite the initial education, rumours of helmets causing neck injuries to children were prevalent, and helmets to protect the growing heads of children were widely unavailable. By 2015, many children remained without helmets because of inaccurate information about injuries they might sustain while wearing them. In response, the government launched a National Child Helmet Action Plan (NCHAP). The integrated plan included three
critical components; a public awareness campaign, police enforcement, and a strong network of road-safety partners to support and further the plan. Credited with having accelerated the passage of the [2007] helmet law because of their “Wear A Helmet. There Are No Excuses” campaign, AIP Foundation was the natural choice to lead a public awareness strategy that would target the next generation of Vietnamese drivers, but also the most malleable of minds.
Value Life Over Fines
Tam Dang, 37, is a teacher’s assistant at a local private school. The staff at her school check to see that the students are wearing helmets when parents drop off and pick up their children. Things don’t always go smoothly. Sometimes a child will have only one helmet to use, so when a different parent picks them up, they are without a way to protect their head. Tam sees this as a problem, but she finds it a challenge to address the parents about it.
Tam has two daughters, ages six and nine, who attend public school in Hanoi, and always wear helmets. In the public school system, helmet education is a part of the classroom experience. “During every assembly on Monday morning, the use of helmets is talked about,” said Tam. “Sometimes the school even gives away helmets as a prize for different things.” She credits Protec, the social enterprise arm of AIP Foundation, for coming to the school and demonstrating to people what a safe helmet looks like and how to use it not only on motorcycles but bicycles, too. Presentations don’t focus on selling the brand — although they are one of the most highly regarded brands available — they focus on saving lives. Currently, the market remains flooded with flimsy helmets designed for vanity, not for protection. With increased awareness of what a good helmet looks like and how it’s built, they hope, there will be less demand for those that aren’t safe.